Acoustical system



July 1, 1958 w. GJKEM P 2,341,255

' ACOUSTICAL SYSTEM Filed March 3, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

BY WILLIAM GEORGE KEMP m ,wyw

ATTORNEYS July 1, 1958 w. G. KEMP 2,841,255

ACOUSTICAL SYSTEM Filed March 3, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.6. FIG].

II I02 IN V EN TOR.

WILLIAM GEORGE KEMP BY WW, WV M ATTORNEYS United States Patent OfiiceACOUSTICAL SYSTEM William George Kemp, Detroit, Mich. Application March3, 1955, Serial No. 491,802 Claims. (Cl. 189- 88) This invention relatesto acoustical systems.

In acoustical systems of the type which are made up of a plurality ofindividual sound absorbing units, installation has been a difiicult andtime consuming job. Accordingly, one object of the present invention isto provide an acoustical system made up of individual sound absorbingunits having provision for quickly and easily mounting the units on adeck or the like.

In accordance with conventional practice, the individual sound absorbingunits are each composed of a pan which supports the sound deadeningmaterial, and the pans are releasably secured to T-bars which areattached to the deck or ceiling at spaced intervals. The presentinvention is concerned, at least in part, with the problem of attachingthe T-bars to the deck and in accordance with the present invention,snap clips are provided which are secured to the deck and which haveportions readily and easily engageable with the T-bars enabling even themost inexperienced personnel to make the installation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a means for securelyattaching the clips to the deck which is particularly characterized bythe strength of the connection and the speed and ease with which theconnection may be made.

Other objects of the invention will become apparent as the followingdescription proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a bottom plan view of a deck or ceiling partially covered bya plurality of individual sound deadening units of my acoustical system,constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the T-bar in assembled relation;

Figure 3 is a sectional view illustrating the connection between thedeck and the T-bars;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the line 4-4 on Figure 3;

Figure 5 is a plan view of one of the snap clips employed in the presentacoustical system and illustrated in Figures 2-4;

Figure 6 is a plan view of a snap clip having a moditied construction;

Figure 7 is a plan view of a snap clip having another modifiedconstruction;

Figure 8 is a sectional view of the snap clip of Figure 6 shown inassociation with another element which cooperates with the clip;

Figure 9 is an elevational view of the element shown in Figure 8;

Figure 10 shows the clip of Figure 6 secured to a deck in a differentmanner; and

Figure 11 shows the clip of Figure 6 secured to a deck in still adifferent manner.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings and especially to Figure1 thereof, the acoustical system there illustrated is generallydesignated by the numeral 10 and is shown in connection with a ceilingor deck 12. The deck in the present instance is formed of sheet metalhavsnap clip and 2,841,255; Patented July 1, 1958 2 ing the paralleldownwardly projecting ribs or corrugations 14. It will be appreciated,of course, that the deck or ceiling may take other forms and may, forexample, consist of bar joists, wood joists, trusses, plaster ceiling,concrete slab, etc.

The acoustical system 10 is made up of a plurality of individual soundabsorbing units 16 which are arranged in edge to edge relationship andare adapted to completely cover the underside of deck 12. In the Figurel illustration, only a portion of the acoustical system is showninstalled in order to illustrate more clearly the deck and the manner inwhich the units 16 are attached to the deck. Each sound absorbing unit16 comprises a pan 18, usually of metal, having a bottom wall 24) ofgenerally rectangular configuration which may be formed with amultiplicity of perforations in accordance with conventional practice.Projecting upwardly from the four edges of the rectangular bottom wall20 are side walls and end walls which cooperate with the bottom wall todefine a space for receiving and enclosing a body of sound absorbingmaterial 26. In the present instance, the sound absorbing material is inthe form of a fiberglass blanket or pad although it will be appreciatedthat so far as the present invention is concerned, other materials maybe employed to serve this function.

The means for attaching the individual units 16 of the acoustical systemto the underside of the deck or ceiling 12 will now be described. Theunits are releasably connected to T-bars 28 which are secured to theunderside of the deck in spaced relation extending transversely of thedirection of length of the corrugations 14. The T-bars may, of course,extend parallel to the corrugations and then be secured to thecorrugations. However, in this instance the distance betweencorrugations would have to correspond to the spacing of the T-bars whichdepends upon the dimensions of the units 16. The T-bars are each formedof a fiat strip of Web 30 having straight parallel longitudinal edges32. Extending inwardly from edges 32 are the return bent portions 33having legs 34 connecting into the inner ends of the re turn bentportions and extending away from the web in directions inclined towardseach other. The legs 34 extend for the full length of the strip 30 andadjacent their lower ends are provided with laterally outwardly bowedportions 36 which define recesses.

It will be noted from Figures 2 and 4 of the drawing that the end walls37 of each pan are formed with laterally inwardly shaped arcuateportions 42 generally conforming with the recesses 36. The lowerextremities of the legs 34 beyond the arcuate portions 36 are providedwith lips 44 flaring laterally outwardly to facilitate the insertion ofthe end walls 37 of pans 18 of adjacent sound absorbing units. It willbe apparent that the end walls of two adjacent units are releasablyclamped between the legs 34 of each T-bar and that these end walls maybe readily inserted between the legs by merely applying an upwardpressure sufiicient to cam the legs outwardly so that the end Walls maysnap into releasable clamping relation with respect to the T-bars. The Tbars are preferably of resilient material such as a high grade steel,for example.

The T-bars are secured to the deck by means of the snap clips 46. Thesesnap clips are secured to the cor rugations 14 of the deck in a mannerdescribed more fully below and are adapted to releasably clamp the T-bars at spaced intervals along their length. Each snap clip is ofgenerally channel-shaped configuration having a web 48 and legs 50projecting from opposite side edges of the web at right angles to theplane of the web. The legs are formed at points spaced from the web withlaterally outwardly extending portions 52 which are disposed in a commonplane parallel to the web, and integrally 3 connecting into thelaterally outer extremities of the portions 52 are the downwardlyextending portions 54 return bent as indicated at 56 to define theopposed recess- V are of a flexible resilient material, preferablysteel, so

that the legs will naturally return to the undeformed conditionillustrated in the drawings to releasably hold the T-bars. 1

The web as of each clip is formed with an opening 62 and this opening isformed by cutting the web along the spaced parallel lines 64 and thencutting the web along a line extending between the lines 64 at rightangles thereto. The opening 62 is then formed by bending the fingers 68definedby the. cut lines in the direction of the legs 56.

The clips .are secured to the corrugations 14 of the deck by metal pins70. The pins have one end secured to the corrugations by welding andproject downwardly from the deck. The width of the opening 62 in the webof the snap clips is related to the diameter of the pins 70 in amannersuch that the clips may be pressed over the pins to insert the latterinto the openings 62 but preventing withdrawal of the clips from thepins due to the locking action afforded by the inclined fingers 6t;defining the openings. The width of the openings 62, of course, issomewhat less than the diameter of the pins so that a degree of pressureis required to press the snap clips over the pins. In order to reducethe pressure thus required, the cut lines 64 extend somewhat beyond thebend 69 between the fingers 68 and the body of the web.

It will be noted that the opposite side edges of the web 48 of the snapclips are formed with raised shoulder portions 71 adapted to engage thedeck and space the main body of the web away from the deck. This is donein order to insure that the clips are firmly seated against the deckwithout any tendency to rock. It also serves the purpose of spacing themain body of the web sufiiciently from the deck to clear the weld jointbetween the pin and the deck.

The method of installing the acoustical system described above will bereadily apparent. First of all, the pins are welded to certaincorrugations 14 of the deck in spaced rows, the spacing between the rowsbeing determined by the length of the acoustical units 16. Then a snapclip 46 is pressed over each pin and will, of course,

be prevented from accidentally being withdrawn by reason of the lockingaction of the fingers 68. A T-bar is then pressed into clamping relationwith the snap clips of each row of clips and this is readilyaccomplished by reason of the fact that the lower extremities of thelegs of the clips have the flaring lips 6t Since the laterally outwardlyextending portions 52 of the recesses 58 extend in a common planeparallel to the web, there will be no tendency for the T-bar to cam pastthese recesses. It may be necessary to adjust slightly the position ofthe snap clips on the pins 70 and if such adjustment is necessary, itmay be easily accomplished by simply sliding the snap clip a smallamount laterally relative to the pin. The fact that the openings 62 inthe webs of the clips are elongated permits this adjustment.

Thereafter the individual sound absorbing units are readily snapped intoposition on the T-bars and the in stallation is complete.

Referring now to Figure 6, a snap clip is there illustrated having amodified construction. The clip shown in this figure is identified bythe numeral 80 and is exactly like the clip 46 except for the opening inthe web. Instead of having an opening formed by the fingers 68, as inthe case of the clip 46, the clip 80 is provided with an elongatedopening dzformed in the web and extending between the shoulders 71.

In some instances it may be desirable to secure the snap clips to thedeck by means other than the pin previously described. Thus, forexample, the clips may be attached to the deck by a headed element, inwhich case there is no need to provide a clip such as the clip 46 havingthe specially formed opening in the web. As seen in Figure 10, the snapclip 89 is secured to a deck 81 of concrete or wooden joists forexample, by a powder actuated pin 84. The pin is driven into the deck bysuitable powder actuated means and has a head 86 of a diameter greaterthan the width of slot 82 to retain the clip fixed to the deck. Theshank'of the pin is, of course, inserted through the slot 82 beforebeing driven into the deck.

The clip 81) may also be secured to a deck by means of butterfly typebolts. A concrete slab 88 is shown in Figure 11 having a cored outportion 90 into which the shank of a butterfly type bolt 92 extends.Openings 94 are provided into the cored out portion 90 at spaced intervals along the underside of the deck to receive the shank of the bolts.Threaded on the shank of each bolt is a sleeve 96 and pivoted toopposite sides of the sleeve are the arms 98. These arms are underspring tension normally urging the arms outwardly to the position shownin Figure 11. However, the pivotal connection between the arms andsleeve 96 enables the arms to be pressed against the sides of the shankto permit the shank and arms to be inserted into the cored out portionwhereupon the arms will be free to swing outwardly and into engagementwith the wall of the cored out portion. The bolt is then turned by meansof the head on the shank to draw the bolt up into the cored out portionto thus clamp the clip 80 against the underside of the deck. The head100 of the bolt is, of course, of a greater diameter than the width ofslot 82 to retain the clip against the deck. It will'be understood thatthis type of bolt may be employed in connection with other types ofdecks in which a free space exists above the deck to permit the arms 98of the bolt to swing outwardly when the shank is inserted through anenlarged opening in the deck.

There also may be instances wherein it is desirable to use the clip 80in connection with the pins 70. In such cases the plate 102 is employedin conjunction with the clip 80. The plate 102 has the longitudinallyextending parallel cut lines 104, and the plate is also out along atransverse line approximately midway between the oppositeends or theplate to define fingers 106 which are bent in one direction asillustrated to define an opening 108 to receive pin 70. The opening 108is of slightly smaller width than the diameter of the pin so that thepin must be pressed into the opening with a degree of pressure. The cutlines 104 are seen to extend beyond the bend line between the fingersand the plate to minimize the amount of pressure thus required. Theplate 102 is applied against the web of clip .80 within the channel sothat the opening 108 registers with the slot 82 and it will be apparentthat when a pin 70 is inserted through the slot 82 and opening 108 thefingers 106 will prevent the pin from being withdrawn.

While the pins 70 have been described as secured to a deck by welding,and while welding is far simpler and more advantageous than other means,it will be appreciated that other means may be employed for securing thepins to a deck.

Figure 7 illustrates still another form of clip. This clip has a slot110 in the web 112 which is elongated as illustrated and opens throughone side of the web. Otherwise the clip 112 is exactly like clip 46. Theclip 112 may be employed in connection with the powder actuated pin 34or the butterfly type bolt 32, if desired. The clip 112 may also utilizethe plate 102 in which event, of course, the plate would be appliedagainst the underside of the web within the channel of clip 112. In thismanner the clip 112 can be used in connection with a deck having thepins 70.

It is, of course, possible that the clips herein described could beattached to a deck by screws or nails. Thus,

referring to Figure 10, in place of the pin 84, a self tapping screw ora nail could be employed.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. In a sound absorbing system for a deck or the like, a plurality ofsound absorbing units, a plurality of bars supporting said units on saiddeck, means mounting said bars on said deck in spaced relation includinggenerally channel-shaped clips of resilient material having their legsreleasably engaged with said bars, and means securing said clips to saiddeck with the legs thereof projecting outwardly from said deck includingpins secured to said deck and projecting therefrom in spaced relation,and elongated openings in the bases of said clips extending along a linefrom one leg thereof to the other receiving said pins, said openingsbeing defined by the straight parallel free ends of fingers integralwith said bases and extending within the channels toward each other fromopposite sides of said openings at an inclination in a direction awayfrom said bases, said fingers gripping said pins and permitting saidpins to be inserted into said openings in said direction but preventingwithdrawal of said pins in the opposite direction, and said clips beingtransversely shiftable on said pins lengthwise of said openings.

2. Means for mounting a plurality of furring strips in the form ofelongated bars on a deck or the like comprising generally channel-shapedclips of resilient material having their legs releasably engageable withsaid bars, and means securing said clips to said deck with the legsthereof projecting outwardly from said deck including pins secured tosaid deck and projecting therefrom in spaced relation, and elongatedopenings in the bases of said clips extending along a line from one legthereof to the other receiving said pins, said openings being defined bythe straight parallel free ends of fingers integral with said bases andextending within the channels toward each other from opposite sides ofsaid openings at an inclination in a direction away from said bases,said fingers gripping said pins and permitting said pins to be insertedinto said openings in said direction but preventing withdrawal of saidpins in the opposite direction, and said clips being transverselyshiftable on said pins lengthwise of said openings.

3. Structure as in claim 2 in which said clips have shoulders projectingfrom said bases in a direction opposite said legs pressed firmly againstsaid deck by the cooperation of said fingers and pins to stabilize saidclips.

4. Structure as in claim 3 in which said shoulders are pressed firmlyagainst said deck under a resilient tension by the cooperation of saidfingers and pins to increase the holding action of said fingers.

5. ltlsans for mounting a plurality of furring strips in the form ofelongated bars on a deck or the like comprising generally channel-shapedclips having their legs releasably engageable with said bars, and meanssecuring said clips to said deck with the legs thereof projectingoutwardly from said deck including pins secured to said deck andprojecting therefrom in spaced relation, elongated openings in the basesof said clips extending along a line from one leg thereof to the otherreceiving said pins, a pair of resilient fingers associated with theopening in the base of each clip extending within the channel towardeach other at an inclination in a direction away from said base, saidpins projecting through said openings and said fingers gripping saidpins and permitting insertion of said pins into said openings in saiddirection but preventing withdrawal of said pins in the oppositedirection, and said clips being transversely shiftable on said pinslengthwise of said openings.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,931,695 Hall Oct. 24, 1933 1,960,078 Eohnsack et al. May 22, 19342,157,251 Tinnerman May 9, 1939 2,213,234 Tinnerrnan Sept. 3, 19402,229,064 Finch Ian. 21, 1941 2,349,158 Fowles May 16, 1944 2,447,694Finch Aug. 24, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS 347,860 Great Britain May 7, 1931142,986 Australia Aug. 17, 1941

